The season is finally here.
Nebraska starts its 2025-26 season on Sunday when it travels to Annapolis, Md. to compete in the Navy Classic for the fourth year in a row. The past three seasons, Nebraska has
won the team title.
This season, the #2-ranked Huskers are the heavy favorites to win another team title — they’re sending their entire starting lineup along with a number of guys locked in roster battles as well as some really talented freshmen.
Before we get into the Navy Classic, you can find all the pre-season roster breakdown and schedule information you could ever need here and here.
Competing against the Huskers this weekend (for sure) will be Navy, Pitt, Virginia, Bucknell, Binghamton, Drexel and George Mason. Those eight schools have already submitted their entries, while American and Morgan State were also scheduled to compete but have not submitted their entries as of Thursday night.
Now, here are some weight-by-weight thoughts going into this weekend’s tournament.
125 pounds
#27 Kael Lauridsen (R-Fr.) AND Alan Koehler (So.)
After winning their wrestle-off 5-3 last week, #27 Kael Lauridsen has the upper hand for the starting spot at 125 pounds, but it isn’t set in stone. This weekend will be another data point — with both Lauridsen and Alan Koehler entered, it’s likely they meet somewhere along the way on Sunday. If not, the higher placer in Maryland will likely get the nod going forward.
This will be Lauridsen’s first Navy Classic, but Koehler competed here last year as a redshirt freshman and finished fourth. Lauridsen went 7-4 last season in redshirt, and Koehler finished the season 12-5.
Along with Lauridsen, the only other ranked wrestler currently in the field will be #23 Keyveon Roller of Virginia — Roller went 14-9 last season and was an NCAA qualifier for the Cavaliers. Also in the field will be Desmond Pleasant who went 16-7 last season for Drexel, Carson Wagner who went 22-12 for Binghamton, and Ben Monn of George Mason who went 17-13.
133 pounds
#5 Jacob Van Dee (Jr.)
So far, Jacob Van Dee is the only ranked wrestler in the field at 133. As the field currently sits, the Husker junior should run through this tournament without being tested much.
His main competition will likely come from Virginia’s Kyle Montaperto, a senior who went 11-6 last season. Also with winning records a year ago, Tyler Kapusta of Bucknell and Dillon Arrick of Binghamton are registered. Kapusta went 9-7 as a freshman last season, while Arrick went 9-8 while in redshirt.
Guys like #23 Marlon Yarbrough of Virginia and #28 Kyle Waterman of Drexel aren’t registered for their teams, but it’s still possible that American’s #29 Max Leete registers between now and Sunday to give Van Dee a match.
141 pounds
#2 Brock Hardy (Sr.) AND Blake Cushing (Sr.)
Looking to lock up his fourth career Navy Classic title at 141 pounds, #2 Brock Hardy has been outstanding here the past three seasons — he’s 14-0 in tournament matches with 10 bonus-point wins — four pins, three technical falls, and three major decisions.
The main competition for Hardy this weekend will come from #15 Dylan Chappell of Bucknell, a senior who went 22-12 last year, finishing one win shy of All-American honors at the NCAA Championships. Three seasons ago, Hardy beat Chappell at the Navy Classic via 16-1 tech fall, but he narrowed the gap over the next two years. Last season in Maryland, Hardy beat Chappell just 2-0.
I expect to see a Hardy-Chappell final on Sunday.
Also in the field for Nebraska will be fellow senior Blake Cushing. Cushing competed last week in the wrestle-offs at 149 pounds, but he fell to both Scott Robertson and Nikade Zinkin in close one-score matches. An incredibly valuable member of this team in the room, Cushing could conceivably knock off either Chappell or #30 Briar Priest of Pitt — the other ranked wrestler in the field. After all, 141 is Cushing’s natural weight class, and he’s proven before that he could be a starter for a lot of programs out there.
149 pounds
Scott Robertson (So.) AND Nikade Zinkin (Fr.)
This may be the weight class I’m most interested in — both Robertson and Zinkin will be competing to see who will be Nebraska’s starter for the first semester. Although I do expect Nebraska to use both guys regardless, this weekend could determine the pecking order.
With senior transfer Chance Lamer not eligible until the second semester, Nebraska needs to figure out who will fill in during a crucial first semester slate of competition — highlighted by competitions like the National Duals and a home dual against #5 Oklahoma State. Both Robertson and Zinkin beat Cushing at wrestle-offs, but they didn’t meet themselves. They also had similar results against Lamer — Zinkin fell 8-3 and Robertson lost 10-3.
Ideally, Robertson and Zinkin will meet each other in the bracket and get to wrestle in a live match that counts to settle things, but it may also come down to who places higher if they don’t meet.
The field for these two will not be easy as there are three ranked wrestlers entered — #15 Kade Brown of Pitt, #18 Wyatt Denkins of Virginia, and #29 Kaden Cassidy of George Mason. Brown is a redshirt freshman who went 10-3 last year, while Denkins (33-13) and Cassidy (19-7) both qualified for NCAAs.
Obviously I’m most intrigued by a potential Robertson vs. Zinkin matchup. With National Duals approaching, Nebraska needs to find out who gives them the best chance to win with a lot of money on the line.
157 pounds
#1 Antrell Taylor (Jr.)
The returning champion NCAA Champion Antrell Taylor should breeze right through this field — he won titles at the Navy Classic both of the past two seasons, so he’ll be going for his third.
Both #20 DJ McGee of George Mason and #33 Colton Washleski of Virginia add some ranked competition, but that likely won’t matter much against Taylor who looks like he’s leveled up. McGee went 23-7 last year and fell one win short of the NCAA podium, while Washleski went 18-8.
165 pounds
LJ Araujo (R-Fr.)
This is another really intriguing weight for the Huskers because redshirt freshman LJ Araujo comes in as a starter with a lot of hype behind him. A guy Nebraska was really high on when they recruited him in their 2024 class, Araujo will now need to prove it on the mat.
Last season, Araujo went 10-4 while redshirting, but he’ll face a tough field this weekend. There will be four ranked opponents competing against him — #18 Evan Maag of George Mason, #21 (at 157) Dylan Evans of Pitt, #23 Noah Mulvaney of Bucknell, and #29 Jared Keslar of Pitt.
A guy who I think will climb the rankings pretty fast this year, Araujo is a really good sleeper pick here to win the whole thing. A hammer on top, Araujo is down from 174 a year ago and could rack up a couple nice wins to start his Husker career.
174 pounds
#4 Christopher Minto (So.) AND Ty Eise (Fr.)
Nebraska has two really good options here in #4 Christopher Minto and true freshman Ty Eise. An All-American down at 165 a year ago, Minto is now up at 174 where he won’t have to cut so much weight. Eise was a blue-chip recruit in the 2025 class.
These two met in the wrestle-offs with Minto winning a tight 4-2 decision win. That’s more a reflection of how good Eise is than it is an indictment of Minto — the Huskers likely have a future star on their hands with Eise who is set to redshirt this year.
The field at 174 may be one of the deepest in the tournament, offering a lot of quality matches to both Minto and Eise. Outside of Minto, there will be four other ranked wrestlers in the field — #7 Danny Wask of Navy, #14 Nick Hamilton of Virginia, #22 Myles Takats of Bucknell, and #31 Carter Baer of Binghamton.
A two-time Navy Classic champion, Wask has twice beaten Huskers in the final — last season he beat Lenny Pinto, and he beat Minto the year before 5-0 during Minto’s redshirt year. Wask went on to finish as an All-American this past season, placing eighth.
Hamilton went 14-5 last year and finished one win shy of the NCAA podium, Takats was 22-9 while qualifying for NCAAs, and Baer went 18-10 last season. Also an NCAA qualifier last year was Jasiah Queen of Drexel who went 21-7 on the year. George Mason also has a solid wrestler competing in Logan Messer, a senior who went 21-12 last season.
184 pounds
#5 Silas Allred (Sr.)
This is another weight that’s pretty straight forward with Nebraska sending #5 Silas Allred, a senior who finished in 7th place a year ago at NCAAs.
His main competition will likely come from #20 Malachi Duvall of George Mason who qualified for NCAAs last year with a 20-8 record on the year.
Allred should win this bracket to earn back-to-back Navy Classic titles after he won here last season. As a sophomore in 2022-23, Allred made it to the final but lost to Princeton’s Luke Stout 4-1 in the final.
197 pounds
#7 Camden McDanel (So.)
This weight class comes down to two names — #5 Mac Stout of Pitt and #7 Camden McDanel of Nebraska.
The two met last season in the final match of the season with Stout beating McDanel 11-3 by major decision in the 7th-place match at NCAAs. This could be McDanel’s opportunity to get that one back.
The final on Sunday will likely come down to McDanel and Stout in one of the most anticipated matches of the entire tournament.
285 pounds
#1 AJ Ferrari (Jr.) AND Cade Ziola (Fr.)
The fact that AJ Ferrari didn’t compete in the wrestle-offs adds a lot of intrigue here. Dealing with a turf toe injury, how will Ferrari look in his first action at heavyweight for a new team?
With both #10 Dayton Pitzer of Pitt and #33 Logan Shephard of Bucknell in the field, there will be some potential ranked matchups — potentially a top-10 matchup in the final even.
That is if a young guy like Cade Ziola doesn’t bust the bracket up. Another blue-chip recruit in Nebraska’s 2025 class, Ziola beat last year’s starter Harley Andrews 9-5 in their wrestle-off last week and looks like a future star for the Huskers. He’s set to redshirt this year, but we will get a really good look at him this weekend, especially if he gets to face Farrari — these two have had some spirited goes in practice but have yet to wrestle each other in a match.
Much like with Zinkin and Eise, we will learn a lot about Ziola this weekend as he gets his first taste of competition against college heavyweights.
